Eating out of the same bowl

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Stitcholder, wiser,- still sniffs- butts

Barked: Fri May 11, '07 7:06pm PST

Ok, I have two dogs, and about 6 months ago, they decided they that they were going to eat out of the same bowl. It is always the same thing, The older dog will eat first. He always leave food for the younger dog and as soon as he is finished the younger dog will eat. This seems like it would be a "pack" characteristic however I am always afraid the younger dog isnt getting enough food. If I put a second bowl out or add food to the bowl, she wont touch it until the older dog decides he doesnt want anymore. I really dont know if this is a good or bad thing. Should I try and get them to eat out of two different bowls? Any advise?

Er, well, I guess you don't want your older dog overeating, so you should probably try and get the younger to eat his own food... Or, you can feed the older dog JUST enough, and add food when he's done? Or, if you do NILIF I can see the dogs looking to YOU to see if you're done eating their food, and then may eat heartily after you.

Charlie & Buster used to do this all the time ........ at the same time ! it never ceased to amaze me that not one snarl was ever uttered ! the only way we could separate them was to feed one in a separate room. after a while Buster would come around and clean up any leftovers from Charlie's dish ........if the cat Skeeter didn't get there first ! sometimes i even caught the cat & one of the dogs eating at the same time out of the same dish...... thats right pups ......a cat that wouldn't leave the dog food alone ! may all three " RIP"

Thanks for the advice. The seperate room thing sounds like a good idea, unfortunately the older dog is a grazer (for 5 years I have tried to change with no luck, especially since he is very picky eater) And since the older dog is a grazer the younger one has become one also. The only time they dont eat out of the same bowl, is when they eat human food. I guess that is the solution to my problem, just feed them human food.

I say, you should make them be able to eat out of the same bowl. There are 13 of us here, we all eat at the same time, and we do not fight. Not being able to control them while they eat, really just means that you have no control over them.